Emergency-exit-door lock.



A. J. BUTLER. EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR LOCK.

APPLICATION rum) MAY 3, 1911.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0-. WASHINGTON, n. c.

ALFRED J. BUTLER, F CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

EMEEoENcY-EXIT-DooE LooK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 3, 1911.

Patented July 23, 1912. Serial No. earesa To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED J. BUTLER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Charlestown, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful. Improvements in Emergency- EXit-Door Locks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in door locks, bolts and the like and particularly to a special class of bolts and locks known as emergency fire or panicexit bolts, locks and latches and has for its object to provide a locking mechanism of this class which shall be simple and strong in construction and certain and reliable in its action.

The object is further to provide a device whereby the manually operable bar on the inside of the door may be operated from the outside of the door, if desired, and to provide means whereby the device for so operating the bar may be locked so as the door cannot be opened from without yet without interfering in any way with the operation of the bar on the inside of the door.

Another object is to provide means whereby the bolts may be operated independently of their operating mechanism and whereby said bolts may be readily and conveniently adjusted.

To these ends, my invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and par ticularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of a door and door locking mechanism embodying my invention, the same being partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Like numerals refer to like parts in both views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 5 is a door which may be of any suitable construction of the hinge type, 6 is a stile and 7 may be the threshold or floor. Secured to the door 5 are bolt casings 8 and 9 located, respectively, at the top and bottom thereof and in these casings are located bolts 10 and 11, respectively, arranged to slide vertically in said casings. The bolt 10 is arranged to enter a suitable strike-plate 12 secured to the stile 6 and in like manner, the bolt 11 is arranged to enter a similar strike-plate 13 secured to the threshold or floor 7, the stile 6 being provided with a recess 14 to receive the bolt 10 and the threshold or floor 7 being provided with a similar recess 15 to receive the bolt 11.

It will be understood that while the strikeplates 12 and 13 are preferably employed they may, of course, be omitted, if desired, so that the bolts will enter, respectively, into the stile and threshold or floor directly and in this case the stile and threshold or fioor will perform the functions of strike-plates and are strike-plates within the meaning of the term as used herein.

Mounted upon the door 5 is a manually operable rocker-bar 16 placed horizontally and mounted at one end thereof in a bearing 17 and provided at its other end with a shaft 18 journaled in a casing 19. The casing 19, which is preferably split vertically, is provided with a chamber 20 in which is located a rocker arm 21 secured to the shaft 18 and provided with two laterally projecting pins 22 and 23. The pin 22 is located in a hori zontal slot 24 provided in a slide 25 mounted to slide vertically in the casing 19 and the pin 23 is located in a horizontal slot 26 provided in a slide 27 also mounted to slide vertically in the casing 19.

The slide 25 is connected to the bolt 10 by a bolt rod 28 preferably connected to said slide by a pivot 29 and mounted in a suitable guide 30. Preferably, the bolt rod 28 p is connected to the bolt 10 in such a manner that the bolt 10 is free to move downwardly with respect to said rod and without disturbing the same, this being accomplished preferably by providing said bolt with a lug 31 throughwhich the rod 28 freely passes, said rod being provided with a nut 32 and check nut 33 having screw-threaded engagement therewith and engaging the upper side of said lug. The bolt is held in engagement with these nuts by a spring 34 bearing at one end against the casing 8 and at its other end against said bolt, said spring being so arranged as to urge the bolt in an upward direction and into the strike-plate. A stop screw 35 passing through a slot 36 provided in the casing 8 into the bolt 10 limits the upward and downward travel of said bolt. Similarly, the slide 27 is connected to the bolt 11 by a bolt rod 37 pivoted at 38 to said slide and mounted in a suitable guide 39. This rod passes through a lug 40 provided on the bolt 11 and is equipped with a nut 41 and lock-nut 42. A spring 43 similar to the spring 34 serves to urge the bolt 11 downwardly into the strike -plate 18, while a stop-screw 44-. passing through a slot (l5 in the casing 9 and having screw-tln'eaded engagement with the bolt 11 limits the travel of said bolt vertically.

It will be seen and understood from the foregoing that the door will open automatically under pressure from the inside thereof against the bar 16, since the pressure when applied to said bar will. serve to rock the same downwardly and will act through the rocker-arm E21, slides 2.5 and 2? and bolt rods 28 and to withdraw the bolts 10 and 11 from interengagement with their respective strike-plates l2 and it will also be evident from. the foregoing that by means of the nuts and 33 and nuts 41. and 4L2 the connection between the bolts and their respective actuating rods may be accurately adjusted and further that said bolts may be withdrawn upwardly and downwardly fr in their respective strike-plates independently of the operating mechanism hereinbefore described, since said bolts are adapted to slide freely with relation to their respective .rods in one direction.

I will now proceed to describe the means which I provide whereby the door may be unlocked from the outside. Passing through the door 5 is an actuating member 4-6 preferably consisting of a slide mounted in a. bushing 47 in said door, this slide being connected to the manually operable bar 16 in such a manner that an outward pull upon said slide will result in the bar being rocked to withdraw the bolts from engagement with their respective strike-plates, but yet permitting said bar to be freely moved inwardly and outwardly with relation to the door without moving said slide, this being accomplished in the present instance by providing said slide with :1 lug 4L8 engaging the inner side of a pin t?) projecting laterally from the bar 16, although it will be under stood that this construction is merely typical and I do not confine myself to this precise arrangement of the parts.

The slide 46 is provided with a suitable handle 50 and is normally locked by a suitable lock 51 having a bolt 52 normally entering a recess 53 provided in the slide $6. The lock 51 may be provided. with a key 54L operating in any usual or desired manner upon the bolt 52. It will now be understood that when the slide l6 is unlocked, the door may be opened by pulling said slide outwardly, thus operating the mechanism on the inside of the door to withdraw the bolts and yet said slide when locked so as to be inoperative does not in any way interfere with the action of the inside mechanism. The advantages of this will, of course, be readily appreciated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

1. The combination with a door, of a strike-plate, a bolt on said door interengaging with said strike plate, a manually operable rocker-bar mounted on said door and connected. to said bolt to operate the same, and means extending through said door and connected to said bar to operate the same in one direction, said means adapted to permit a free relative motion between said means and said bar in said direction.

2. The combination with a door, of a strike-plate, a bolt on said door interengag ing with said strike plate, a manually operable rocker-bar mounted on said door and connected to said bolt to operate the same, means extending through said door and connected to said bar to rock the same toward said door said means adapted to permit said bar to be rocked toward said door without moving said means, and means to lock the first-mentioned means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFRED J. BUTLER. Witnesses Louis A. J ONES, Sauna V. MCCARTHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

